SF Tea Party in SF today at 5pm, Union Square

Danoodle is back in town. Much has happened the last 6 months while I have been gone. Will post whenever possible. My friend Sally Zelikovsky heads up Bay Area Patriots. She has done a stellar job in organizing events for Marinites and SF conservatives. Click on title above for information re today's protest in SF at 5:00pm. See you there! Sally's website is www.bayareapatriots.com.

Local Businesswoman takes on Lynn Woolsey

How sweet it is! Local businesswoman Catherine Bragg took on Lynn Woolsey at a Town Hall Meeting that would make any conservative proud! Go Catherine! Click on title above to view to Catherine's UTube spot.

Update - Danoodle on the road

Am currently touring the South on a road trip. Things definitely move slower here - possibly because of the HOT weather. Outside Charleston, SC, our car temp gauge showed 107 degrees. Am not in Marin currently, so don't know what's happening since I haven't had many Internet connections on this road trip. It's amazing how uninformed one can get - deliberately! Busy sightseeing.

Marin Republican Central Committee - CLUELESS!

-----Original Message-----
From: Sally Zelikovsky
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 7:54 AM
To: Sally Zelikovsky
Subject: FW: Tea Party

This is the response I FINALLY got from the MRCC about having them forward
the press release to their email list. By the way, the SF-GOP sent it to
their 7000 member email list; didn't hesitate.

In any event, you will have rec'd my response to them already, but thought
you should see this to know the context.

I am thoroughly disgusted.

-----Original Message-----
From: Errol Tremolada
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2009 3:45 PM
To: sallyzel@comcast.net
Cc: Kevin Krick; Sashi McEntee
Subject: Tea Party

Sally,

I received your email via the executive chairs. I have previously emailed
with Elizabeth Appell regarding this issue but here's our policy:

We would like to fill our events calendar on the website with as many events
as possible, Republican sanctioned or not. We've added the tea party there
now. However, the email blasts will remain for official MCRCC news and
events (meetings, newsletters etc.) This is to prevent activist groups and
coalitions from using us basically as an advertising business, which is not
what we are. There are environmental conservatives that will hold events,
log cabin republican events, pro life events, traditional marriage events
etc and we cannot be in the business of advertising on their behalf all the
time. We will have these events on our website calendar. Another important
issue is to be careful how many emails get to our list's inboxes. We cannot
flood them. With meeting reminders, newsletters and the occassional press
release we will be treading a thin line. The more emails the more vulnerable
we are to people ignoring them because they are annoyed and worse they exit
the list. I support your efforts with the tea party just as I have
personally supported other coalitions events (enviromentall, pro life etc)
but we cannot use the MCRCC as a tool in that manner. I would love my por
life events to get that exposure but we can't be blasting every event. If we
did, we would create a precedent that would leave us answering emails like
yours for months and years to come. We believe this policy is clean cut
rather than picking and choosing events to blast.

Thanks for your efforts and I hope for the best success at the Tea Party.

Errol Tremolada
Communications Chair

Reply to Marin Central Committee's clueless stance

-----Original Message-----
From: Sally Zelikovsky
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 7:52 AM
To: 'Errol Termolina'
Cc: 'Kevin Krick'; 'Sashi McEntee'
Subject: RE: Tea Party

Thanks for your reply.

I do have a few thoughts to share.

This struggle is remarkably different than your run-of-the-mill political
issue.

People justifiably feel they are fighting for their future, for the future
of the country, for their children, for their safety and economic security.
Every day, there is a new pronouncement from the Admin or Cong of some
liberty being whittled away. People feel they are fighting for the life of
the Republic as well as the Republican Party.

Republicans and conservatives of all shapes and sizes, are scared. People
like me, who have never protested in their lives, are taking to the streets,
clamoring to be heard in fear and desperation. For those of us having to
pay college tuition, losing our jobs and homes, seeing our retirements drip
down the drain, this isn't a game. It's real life and has real, painful
consequences. We feel like we aren't being heard or listened to and sadly,
by Democrats as well as many in our party.

This is a nationwide movement, one that the Republican Party desperately
needs to support in order for it to survive. Without the votes of the
millions who are undertaking this effort, the Republican Party will continue
in its downward spiral. What use is a party that won't take a stance on an
issue as compelling and prosperity-threatening as this one? This myopic
perspective is rooted in impotence and that's not going to recruit members,
drum up dollars or cultivate strong future candidates. If the party won't
stand behind the people, the people will not be there for the party.

Honestly, not one of us is thrilled we have to protest. We have jobs and
school and families we would rather be with on April 15th. I have been
working 24/7 on this as a volunteer-I have much better things to do w/ my
time, like look for a job. But we have literally been forced onto the
streets. Are you afraid to get your hands dirty by forwarding the press
release? It's ok for us to take to the streets, but you don't want any part
of it? And then you are going to ask us to support the candidates you prop
up? Well, I can tell you that when the 150 people on my email list get wind
of this one, they aren't going to be happy w/ the MRCC. And by the way, you
should know that many constituents are miserable that they have to protest
and feel they wouldn't have to be doing this if the Republican Party had
done its job in the first place. Yes, that's how many feel.

You can embrace your limited view or choose to do what other republican
parties have done across the country-they not only plan to use their email
lists to forward information about this event, but intend to show up to the
Tea Party and register voters while sending the message that the Republican
Party stands with the people on this issue. Now, that's a Republican Party
your average Joe will support.

The issue of our economy is vast in scope and affects all aspects of our
lives. It goes to the very core of conservatism and therefore, the
Republican platform, that is, limited government, low taxes and liberty,
including economic liberty and free enterprise. This issue is so profound,
I am even getting support from democrats. This disaster BHO has created is
giving us the opportunity to recruit disillusioned Democrats, much like 9-11
did. Yes, this is that big.

If the Republican Party cannot wrap its hands around an issue that is
uniting millions of conservatives (most of whom vote Republican) and cannot
see this as a struggle not only for the success of the Republican Party but
for the life of the country, then the Republican Party is in more trouble
than I could have ever imagined.

I think I am beginning to understand how it is the democrats can continue to
walk all over us, when we are unwilling to work with one another for petty
reasons such as (1) glutting people w/ emails (emails many of them have
indicated to me they would have liked to receive from the MRCC-and, by the
way, all I asked is for a one time distribution of the press release) and
(2) doing our advertising (I cannot even come up w/ a parenthetical for this
pathetic excuse).

I have heard rumors about the last few meetings and refused to believe them.
I stood up for the MRCC on several occasions the past few months. I know
you are facing some battles with a group of conservatives who want to take
the party in a different direction in order to have a real impact. I've
been reluctant to agree with them and have mistakenly defended the MRCC and
some of the outrageous actions that have been taken recently. However, after
seeing how you have taken such a hands off approach to this issue, the MRCC
itself has reinforced all of the negative rumors floating about town.

This is a truly sad state of affairs. My arm is still outstretched and I
remain willing to work with you on this. I hope you can see things from the
perspective of hundreds of your constituents/members.

Thank you,
Sally Zelikovsky

SF Tea Party Press Release

Press Release:

Tax Day Tea Party Members Gather in San Francisco to Protest Bailouts and Wasteful

Spending in the Stimulus and Budget

Date: Wednesday, April 15th

Time: 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.

Place: Civic Center Park, San Francisco

San Francisco Coordinator: Sally Zelikovsky

Email: sallyzel@comcast.net

California Coordinator: Mark Meckler

Email: mark.grassroots@gmail.com

Together with Tea Parties taking place in hundreds of cities across the country, concerned taxpayers will

gather on April 15, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. in Civic Center Park in San Francisco to send

the following message to President Obama and the Congress:

• No You Can’t! spend taxpayers’ hard-earned money on reckless stimulus packages loaded with pork.

• No You Can’t! implement a pork-laden budget that can only lead to increased taxes and further debt.

• No You Can’t! put a stranglehold on our economy.

• No You Can’t! take our money and limit our freedoms.

The consequences of such profligate spending are far-reaching and will affect the economic well-being of

future generations while thwarting the basic liberties entrusted to the people by our Constitution.

When, in 1773, the colonists were not heard or respected, the Boston Tea Party was born and the Sons

of Liberty dumped tons of tea into the Harbor as a protest against the British government. Tax Day Tea

Party protesters are gathering across this great nation in the spirit of those patriots, demanding to be

heard.

The winds of change are blowing but this isn’t change any of us can believe in. The irresponsible

behavior of Washington’s politicians has prompted taxpayers to action. Hard-working Americans

throughout the country and across the economic and political spectra are joining forces to send a

message to their politicians: America is going to party like it’s 1773!

 

Dissent and the Media that Fails to Report it!

By Sally Zelikovsky

Tea Party Organizer for SF event April 15, 2009, 11am - 1pm, Civic Center Park.

 

 

“What have you heard about tea parties,” I recently asked about a dozen people.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Like the one I had with my grandkids last week?”

 

“Is this a trick question?”

 

“Nothing, in particular.”

 

These are just a few of the responses my informal survey yielded.  Statistically speaking it hardly comprises a representative sample but is instructive nonetheless.  In short, the media are depriving Americans of all the news that’s fit to print.

 

This is scarcely a surprise to conservatives, but for those who are not aware of this phenomenon, take heed. 

 

It is rudimentary that the press serves as an unofficial check on all three branches of the government. It is supposed to function independently from the government ensuring that the public receives news in its purest, most unadulterated, objective form. Our history books are replete with examples of societies in which the press functioned as an arm of the government and the havoc that came to bear on the governed as a result.  While I do not claim that today’s press is an extension of the government, I’m afraid, my blissfully unaware friends, that we have journeyed to a time when our press functions as a de facto arm of the government.  By failing to report newsworthy events simply because they do not comport with the collective viewpoints within a media organization, the press becomes complicit in the promotion of one ideology over another.  The tyranny of the majority, which was anathema to our founding fathers, has finally found a foothold in our media and threatens all we hold dear (and by “we” I mean all of us regardless of political affiliation). 

While the media knowingly and repeatedly fail to inform millions of Americans of newsworthy events, millions of Americans are also guilty for failing to demand more of their print and electronic media outlets. 

 

Today, millions of Americans are exercising their constitutional right to dissent by staging tea parties all across the land and yet millions of Americans have not read a word about it in the papers, heard any mention of it on the radio or seen a single image about it on TV (excepting, of course, Fox News, conservative Talk Radio and conservative publications). This neglect is not accidental.  The press is intentionally holding back news from you, the people. 

 

The tea party story you are not being told has nothing to do with doilies and crumpets.  It hearkens back to a time in 1773 when the Sons of Liberty dressed as Mohawk Indians and emptied tea into the Boston Harbor as a protest against the King of England.  This is one of the earliest episodes of dissent in this country. The only conclusion one can draw about the media’s neglect is that while dissent was patriotic in 1773, in 2009 it is patriotic only when the left dissents against the right and not the other way around. 

 

How else to explain the fact that something big is brewing all across the land and you know nothing about it?

 

Since the press won’t tell you about the tea parties, I will.  Over half the people who voted in this last election are fuming mad and do not agree with the economic policies of the current Administration and Congress.  They have reached a tipping point and, in uncharacteristic fashion, are taking to the streets on April 15^th in close to 300 cities across the nation, with thousands expected to protest the wasteful and profligate spending in Washington; the pork-laden, so-called Stimulus Package; the trillion dollar, record breaking Budget; and proposed Health Care Plans that are sure to bankrupt the American people.

 

No one stood in the way of the anti-war protesters or Code Pink when they took center stage and most credible news outlets (right, left and center) reported these acts of dissent.  Did you know that the conservative media also reported on these protests as well as anti-torture rallies, anti-trade demonstrations and the ubiquitous anti-Bush protests?  Yet, non-conservative media outlets have neglected to inform the public that tea parties have not only already taken place, but hundreds will occur on April 15^th!  We know the press is not allergic to this kind of reporting because just last week, local TV crews covered the tepid protest in front of the Marine recruitment office in the East Bay on the 6^th anniversary of the Iraq War—they didn’t miss a beat.

 

But when it comes to dissent from the right and center, they’ve missed an entire concerto of beats.  This blatant shunning of news should worry all of us: once the press filters the news through their own lenses, the news becomes tainted and questionable and the individual is at the mercy of those in control.   

 

Is that the news you want?   

 

A skewed media hurts us all and whittles away at our fundamental freedoms.  Whether you have actually lived in a society where the press is controlled by political forces or merely read 1984 in high school and can envision this reality through the power of fiction, you know that a free and fair press in bed with a party or an ideology flies in the face of all we value and, by definition, cannot be free and fair. 

 

Speaking of 1984, during the Two Minute hate when viewers robotically spew hate towards Emmanuel Goldstein, Winston directs his hate against Big Brother, the Party and the Ministry of Truth.  Realizing that Goldstein is just another prop in the party’s propaganda machine (funneled by a complicit media and individuals reluctant to think for themselves), Winston feels affection for Goldstein as the “sole guardian of truth and sanity in a world of lies,” a world in which he and the people around him play just as big a part as the Party and Ministry.

 

I challenge the Marin IJ, the San Francisco Chronicle and every local television and radio station in the Bay Area to report on the Tea Party taking place on April 15^th from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Civic Center Park in San Francisco and to do so without bias.  Let your readerships and viewerships decide.  Continued failure to detail this story of dissent brings the press ever closer to Orwell’s Ministry of Truth. 

 

CA Civil Service update - from Mark Hill

Absolutely incredible.......Note the highlighted quote below.....This guy will get fired for this..but it says it all..PRESS owned by Unions.

Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers

December 31, 2008

2009-10 budget: Impact on state workers; CPR revived

State Finance Director Mike Genest unveiled Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2009-10 budget proposal today. It continues the call for a employee furloughs, two fewer paid holidays each year, changes to overtime pay calculations and layoffs.

The new wrinkle: Schwarzenegger wants to dump CalPERS as the health care rate negotiator / administrator for the state workforce. Here are the pertinent paragraphs on pages 45 and 46 of the governor's plan:

Porposed changes to General Fund expeditures include:

A decrease of $132.2 million in health care costs beginning in January 2010 by contracting for lower cost health care coverage directly from an insurer rather than through CalPERS. Savings beginning in 2010‑11 will prefund Other Post‑Employment Benefit costs.

And Non-General Fund adjustments include:

A decrease of $47.9 million from various special funds in health care costs by contracting for lower cost health care coverage directly from an insurer rather than through CalPERS. Savings beginning in 2010‑11 will prefund Other Post‑Employment Benefit costs.

You can read the 2009-10 budget plan here.

And remember the California Performance Review? Schwarzenegger is reaching back to it for ways to consolidate and streamline the government. An insert to the budget outlines more than two dozen state boards, agencies, bureaus and commissions the administration wants to streamline, combine or eliminate.

You can read that document by clicking on this link. The Bee is all over the governor's proposal. We have a half-dozen reporters and editors working the story from various angles this afternoon. Watch for several stories out tomorrow.

Meet the (biased) Press

From my notes, but never published until now.

 

Sat. Sept. 8, 2007: CRP Convention Seminar, Indian Wells:

 

Meet the Press panel discussion featured moderator Pat (ex-CRP Communications guy), with Carla (SF Chron), Lisa (Contra Costa Times), and John (San Diego Tribune). 

 

Same old blather...

 

on Reporting:

 

Republicans need to form personal relationships with the reporters so that their side will get covered... 

Layers of editors the reporters go through to get their story approved...

Have to produce more and more with less people (SF Chronicle lost 80 reporters recently - 35% of their employees let go), which produces less in-depth reporting...

Consolidation of the papers hurts the readers a lot by reducing multiple coverages of stories...

Bloggers don't often tell the truth, [although the panel reporters do go to blogs like FlashReport daily]...

Newspaper readership is down because of free news websites, [not because people don't want to read or pay for bias]...

People who only read their side of the story are uninformed...[intimated Repubs do that more than Dems]...

 

on Issues: 

Term Limits: public not interested.

Pollsters having problems polling as there are fewer telephone land lines, and pollsters aren't reaching cell phones.

Redistricting:  for Dems, this is a nuclear issue, threatening their supremacy in CA.  Dems will throw $$$$ to defeat.

 

on Candidates:

O'Bama is a terrific public speaker, but Hillary is running a "flawless" campaign.  She has the organization in place, and will be the Dem's candidate.  More and more Independents who, at first, would vote for Rudy over Hillary, are turning and supporting Hillary.

Public tenor is: not much enthusiasm for Republican candidates.

Among Repubs, lots of support for Rudy.  Some for Romney.  Not so with Thompson.

Huckabee "wowed" SF Chron editors recently when he interviewed with them.

Romney is bordering on "slick" instead of sincere.  His support is collapsing [quite gleefully said].

In response to audience charge that lesser candidates aren't covered:

Campaign Money results in higher polling, reporters only cover candidates who are polling well.

 

on Abortion:

Audience question:  we don't care about abortion.  why do you?

Reporter:  Abortion is an issue with us, so deserves coverage.  [Press keeps this issue alive.]

 

Audience questions:

A young M.D. from Fresno put it succinctly.  "We don't trust you...past reporting has shown an ignorance of facts... Lies of omission are still lies.  There's a reason papers are declining.  How do you propose changing our distrust of you?"

 

Another audience member:  "When did news change from reporting to raising h---l?"

 

Reporters response was, of course, to deny that there is media bias, and Lisa, from the CC Times, even said, "Truth?  What is Truth?  There is no one Truth.  There are about 50 different versions of "Truth" [so we have a hard time distinguishing what to report].

 

My view:

Unbelievable piety, total indifference to criticism, bubble-residing, whiney, entrenched reporters (just like bureaucrats) who believe in their hearts they are fair in their coverage; that they are unjustly maligned, that their jobs are threatened because of all the bloggers and free websites.

 

Final moderator quote:  "You can disagree [with the press], but don't be disagreeable."

 

 

An Open, Rambling Letter of Congratulations and Hope

By Sally Zelikovsky San Rafael, CA Dear Friends and Family: I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations on a truly historic election. Having endured what you believe were 8 excruciating years of poverty and devastation, I know that those of you who voted for Obama must all be relieved. I have also endured the last 8 years, but my experience is notably different from yours. And I think in looking ahead to the future, we must look to the past for lessons learned and take responsibility that those lessons won’t be repeated. From the minute George Bush was elected, the Democrats began their next campaign--and it was a brilliant one--to tarnish the Republican brand. With the exception of a short blip during 9-11, when politicians and their constituents had no choice but to put politics aside, Bush met with nightly assaults in the media on everything he said and did. First, there were the periodicals and the networks; then, the nightly talk and comedy shows; then books and movies; and finally, supposed parodies like “L’il Bush.” It was an endless onslaught defaming the brand and, it’s true, you know, if you say it enough, they will believe it. Most of us have endured your parties with your relentless scathing and often unsubstantiated claims about Bush and his policies, his lies and distortions, his nefarious character and Machiavellian desires; the constant barrage of ridicule of all things Bush and all things conservative; the distortion and manipulation of incidences…all to prop up your own brand, whether wittingly or unwittingly. I say “unwittingly” because many of you fail to recognize the role you played in this daily onslaught against the President, in particular, and the havoc it wreaked on this country, in general. Many times I tried to engage you in conversation, as many of my like-minded friends have done, only to be met with scorn, ridicule, all too often ignorance and almost always the brush off. People talk a good game about robust debate, but they have shown they don’t live up to it. I’m not trying to anger you; quite the contrary. I want you to remember “your” behavior over the last 8 years and contrast it with “mine.” First, notice the congratulatory nature of the right regarding this victory; the authentic well wishing, despite the disappointment; the articulated support for all things Obama in the hopes that this man will think about his children’s future and hence will benefit the future for all of our children. And while you observe that, recall how the right was treated by the left from the moment (back to my opening salvo) Bush took office. He, we, never stood a chance. He was the original candidate outside of the beltway seeking to reach across the aisle and nearly all of his gestures were rebuffed, only to be met with a revision of events that could only occur with the complicity of the media. Second, as Obama transitions into the White House, recall again, the way the Bush team’s truncated transition was handled: from offices left in shambles, to the very juvenile prank of “w” keys missing on all the computers, to White House staff members, CIA and State Dept. employees vowing to undermine Bush and his administration at every opportunity. Contrast that with Bush’s statements and guarantees of a smooth transition; his establishment of a Transition Council to aid the Obama administration. And let’s not forget that in Bush’s attempt to govern moderately, he displayed boundless good will by leaving in powerful positions, much to his detriment as hindsight has shown, countless holdovers from Democrat Administrations, all done with the mistaken belief that good people would put partisan politics aside when it came to the defense of this country and doing what was best for it. Again, scan the annals of your memory and recall the Bush transition in the wake of Clinton and contrast that with what you are witnessing today. But most of all, I am most proud of my conservative friends and family who never gloated when Bush was elected (twice) and aren’t spewing vitriolic hatred for someone they didn’t vote for, like you all did. I recall many comments but maybe this one will jar your memory: “He’s not my President.” I may not agree with Obama on much, but, like it or not, he is my President. And, in the course of this, you closed your minds and mouths to discussion, open and robust. You had a complicit media, feeding you only the information it wanted you to have and that you wanted to hear. I’d like to think, as opposed as I am to everything Obama stands for, I will at least expose myself to the other side. Well, I know I will because I always have and frankly, you cannot live in America without being exposed to the main stream media. But it saddens me that the electorate is not exposed to a balanced media unless individuals proactively seek it, something I’ve notice few of you do. And, when some of you do take a glimpse into the alternative press, you often start asking questions and reading and pondering and you begin to see what we all see so clearly. I am always in awe of those who do; for it takes great courage to break out of one’s somnambulism. And now you seek to shut that down with the Fairness Doctrine. What are you afraid of? Our family comes from a repressive socialist regime. When children are inundated with carefully constructed programs of information at school, when their ability to speak freely is stifled, when they are given a psychological evaluation by a school because they dared to share conservative viewpoints, when the electorate is so ignorant they cannot explain the difference between socialism and democracy, when freedom to associate and speak and publish are first mocked and then stifled with the threat of legislation, when hard work and success are rewarded with punitive tax measures and wealth is randomly redistributed instead of being steered towards investment, then we are in trouble. It’s a delicate balance, a democracy. It doesn’t take much, when the winds are blowing in the same direction, to knock it off its balance and tip it towards a place we don’t really want to go. Today, all of the winds are blowing to the left and, while that isn’t in and of itself necessarily grim, the power to tip society one way or the other now lies in the hands of a Democrat President, Democrat Congress and Democrat leaning Supreme Court. I ask nothing more of my Democrat friends and family to temper your enthusiasm with caution, your call for change with reason. I do hope our fears about Obama and the power the Democrats have is unfounded. I do hope he brings continued prosperity and security to this nation (and I say continued because now that you have prevailed and the gloves are off, I think we can dispense with the charade about how bad off we all have been for the last 8 years; you did spin it brilliantly to make for a successful campaign). And I do hope all of you exercise this power responsibly. More than anything, I hope you remember to give credit to the right for its collective behavior during this transition and I ask for some intellectual honesty and historic accuracy when I beseech you to take responsibility for the lack of peace during the last transition and the downright divisiveness, even nastiness, throughout the last 8 years. Be very skeptical of a society with a biased or controlled media. Take the time to talk with a few refusniks to refresh your memories about the powerful impact a controlled media has on its population and its politics. I doubt very much that there will be a movie about Obama called “Hussein” or that there will be a ridiculous show called “L’il Obama.” Watch carefully on your TV screens for the onslaught of Obama jokes and reporters who ooze nothing but disdain and loathing for him before he even takes office. And don’t forget to check The New Yorker to see if his caricature morphs into a big eared, tiny monkey-like figure like Bush’s has. I doubt it.